Coin return mechanism for a vending machine

ABSTRACT

A vending machine having a coin operated dispensing mechanism which is adapted to open an access door upon the insertion of the correct combination of coins therein. A coin return mechanism is secured to the coin operated dispensing mechanism in a manner such that movement of the coin return lever will cause the entire dispensing mechanism to pivot about a vertical axis whereby a plurality of plates, which define coin passageways in the dispensing mechanism, are caused to separate and allow coins in the passageways to fall into a coin return chute. A selective guard is provided to ensure that if the access door is opened the coin return mechanism is rendered inoperative.

United States Patent Taylor 1 Jan. 23, 1973 154 1 com RETURN MECHANISM ron A Primary ExdminerStanley u. Tollberg VENDING MACHINE Attorney-Matthew P1 Lynch [76] Inventor: Alfred H. Taylor, 10144 Sully Drive, Sun Valley, Calif. 91253 [571 ABSTRACT [22] Filed: 23 1971 A vending machine having a coin operated dispensing Appl. No.1 118,123

mechanism which is adapted to open an access door upon the insertion of the correct combination of coins therein. A coin return mechanism is secured to the coin operated dispensing mechanism in a manner such that movement of the coin return lever will cause the entire dispensing mechanism to pivot about a vertical axis whereby a plurality of plates, which define coin passageways in the dispensing mechanism, are caused to separate and allow coins in the passageways to fall into a coin return chute. A selective guard is provided to ensure that if the access door is opened the coin return mechanism is rendered inoperative.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAH 23 1975 SHEET 1 0F 3 ALFRED H. TAYLOR INVENTOR ATTORNEY PATENTUD 2 3 i 3. 7 l 2 441 SHEET 2 [1F 3 ALFRED H. TAYLOR INVENTOR ATTORNEY Y W/QA A PATENTE-B-Jnu 2 3 ms SHEET 3 0f 3 ALFRED H. TAYLOR INVENTOR ATTORNEY COIN RETURN MECHANISM FOR A VENDING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Coin operated vending machines for newspapers or the like are well known and found on street comers in all major cities. These machines normally comprise a cage mounted upon a stand, the cage having an access door with a latch which is capable of being released by the insertion in a coin operated dispensing mechanism, particular coins in a particular sequence. Once all the correct coins are inserted in the correct order the latch is released and the access door is capable ,of being opened by the depositor who then may reach into the case and remove a newspaper.

These coin operated vending machines are a major advance over the old fashioned newspaper stand or the honor system newspaper rack; however, they still have a major drawback in that if the coins are not inserted in the correct sequence or if incorrect or bent coins or slugs are inserted in the coin mechanism, the machine will jam. When the vending machine jams the depositor of the coins loses his money and does not get a newspaper and subsequent purchasers will also lose any coins that they may insert, whether correct or not, and they will not obtain a newspaper for their money. This obviously causes potential newspaper purchasers to shy away from newspaper vending machines which causes the owners thereof to lose income.

Ever since coin operated newspaper vending machines were developed and used, people have been trying to develop a coin return mechanism that will work not only when coins may be inserted in incorrect order but also when bent coins or slugs which jam the coin operated dispensing mechanism are inserted. These efforts have so far been fruitless and the problem remains the same today as it did years ago.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the aforementioned problems by providing a coin return mechanism which is adapted to release and return any type of coin or slug that may mistakenly or purposely be inserted in the machine, thereby preventing the vending machine from becoming jammed and inoperative. The coin return mechanism of the present invention is adapted to beutilized with the standard type of coin operated dispensing mechanism currently being utilized in coin operated newspaper vending machines and primarily consists of a means for allowing the entire coin dispensing mechanism to be pivoted about a fixed point and concurrently causing the plates forming the coin passageways to move relative to each other, thereby allowing coins or slugs trapped therebetween to fall out into a coin return chute. A selective guard is provided to ensure that if the access door latch is fully released the coin return mechanism is rendered inoperative.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is a front cut-away of the coin operated dispensing mechanism with the coin release mechanism attached thereto.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective of the coinoperated dispensing mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, showing the coin operated, dispensing mechanism in its normal coin receiving position.

FIG. 4 is the coin operated dispensing mechanism of FIG. 3 in its coin return position upon actuation of the coin release mechanism.

FIG. 5'is an exploded perspective of an alternate embodiment of the coin operated dispensing mechanism with the selective guard in its inoperative position.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the selective guard, shown in its inoperative position in dotted lines and is operative position in solid lines. 7

FIG. 7 is a top perspective of a multiple coin latch mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT plates 11-16. When the pin 18 is inserted through the holes 17, a cotter pin or any other fastening means is secured to the end of the connecting pin 18 in order to prevent the plates from coming off the connecting pin. The fact that the connecting pin is of a length greater than the combined thickness of the plates is of importance in the present invention as will be apparent hereinafter. Plates 12, 13, 15 and 16 have a coin passageway 19 formed in one of their faces and abutting face of the adjacent plate is flat so that when all the plates are in juxtaposition a coin will travel through the passageway 19 between the plates without getting lodged or stuck between the plates unless the coin is bent. Each of the passageways 19 have a cam cut-out 20 along its lower end into which a coin 21', which is inserted into the passageway will terminate in abutment to a latch 22. (Shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 7.)

When the correct coins are inserted into the passageway 19 theyare retained in a camming relationship by the cam cut-out 20 so that when the access door is pulled out the coins will depress the latch 22, thereby allowing the latch 22 to pass below a stop 23. When incorrect or insufiicient coins are inserted the latch 22 is not fully depressed and the stop 23 will prevent the latch 22 from being withdrawn. Since the access door is connected to the latch 22, the door cannot be opened until the latch is, sufficientlydepressed bythe correct sum of. coins. The specific interaction betweenthe stop 23 and the latch 22 will be more fully described hereinafter.

In someinstances it may be necessary to provide for the latch 22 to be released by different combinations of coinsv totaling to a common sum of money, i.e., 2 nickels or a dime. This contingency is provided for by constructing the coin dispensing mechanism 10 in a manner such that different size coins when inserted into a common coin slot 24, will be caused to enter different passageways 19, which terminate in different The means by which the different sized coins are caused to enter different passageways when inserted in a common coin slot 24 is a deflector 25. The deflector 25 is positioned on plates 13 and 16, which are adjacent the coin slots 24 and are located in a position relative to the passageway 19 so that a small coin such as a dime will slide beneath the deflector 25 and pass into the passageway 19 disposed in the plate having the deflector 25 thereon, while a larger coin will contact the deflector 25 and be deflected into an adjacent passageway.

A multiple coin latch mechanism 40 is illustrated in Fig. 7, wherein the latch 22 has a cam portion 41, a pair of cut-outs 42 and 43 and a downwardly sloping lip 44 along its free end. The latch 22 has a width greater than the combined thickness of the plates and the cam portion 41 extends laterally across the latch 22 for a distance equal to the combined thickness of the plates, the cut-outs 42 and 43 are disposed in the latch 22 adjacent to but not beneath the plates. The dual cut-outs 42 and 43 enable the latch mechanism to be released by multiple coins of different denominations, i.e., a nickel and a dime; however, if it is desired that the latch mechanism be opened by coins of common denomination then it is only necessary that the cut-out 42 be provided. In operation, as the access door is pulled out, the latch which is attached thereto is moved with it; if a coin has not been inserted then the stop 23 will engage the cut-out 42, holding the latch 22 and consequently preventing the access door from opening. If only a single coin has been inserted, then the coin will depress the latch 22, allowing the cut-out 42 to pass beneath the stop 23 until the coin rides over the crest of the cam 41, whereupon the latch 22 will return to its normal position and the stop 23 engages the cut-outs 43, thereby precluding the latch and access door from traveling further. When the correct number and denominations of coins are inserted the cam cut-outs 20 are positioned so that as the first coin is riding over the crest of the cam 41, the second coin is approaching the cam, thereby preventing the latch 22 from returning to its normal position until both cut-outs have passed beneath the stop 23, thereby allowing the access door to be fully opened.

Attached to the bottom of end plate 11 is a finger 26 which extends outwardly from the plate in a horizontal plane; the function of the finger 26 will become apparent hereinafter. Secured to the top of one of the plates are a pair of hangers 27. While the hangers 27 are shown attached to the end plate 16 in FIG. 1, they can be attached to any of the plates shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5, the coin operated dispensing mechanism is pivotally supported by the hangers 27 which are adapted to pivotally fit over a support pin 28, which is secured to a housing 29. Since the entire coin operated dispensing mechanism 10 is suspended from the hangers 27, the entire mechanism 10 is capable of being pivoted in an arc about the support pin 28. During normal operation it is imperative to j the operation of the dispensing mechanism 10 that the coins 21 terminate in the cam cut-outs 20 when the cutouts are in alignment with and in juxtaposition to the latch 22 so that the latch can be depressed by the camming action of the coins. In order to ensure that the v coin operated dispensing mechanism 10 is disposed in juxtaposition to the latch 22, a spring-biased positioning bar 30 is secured to the housing 29 in a manner such that the free end of the bar 30 is in abutment to the outer surface of the end plate. The bar 30, due to the biasing action of the spring, forces the plates 11-16 against an abutment (now shown) which is secured to the housing 29 on the side opposite to the bar 30. The abutment extends inwardly towards the bar 30 a sufficient distance so that when the outer surface of plate 11 is in abutment therewith all of the passageways 19 between the plates are above and in juxtaposition to the cam portion 41 of the latch 22, as shown in FIG. 4.

Secured to the outer surface of the plate 16, as best shown in FIG. 1, are a pair of ears 31; the ears 31 extend outwardly from the plate 16 in a vertical plane and have a pair of complementary holes 32 therein. A coin return lever 33 is disposed through the holes 32, whereby the longitudinal axis of the coin return lever 33 is on a horizontal plane. The coin return lever 33 is securely retained within the holes '32 in any convenient manner, such as by a cotter pin or other fastener. One end 34 of the coin return lever 33 extends outwardly beyond the edge of the plates ll-16 through an elongated slot 35 in a face plate 36 of the housing 29. The face plate 36, in addition to the elongated slot 35, also contains the coin slots 24 and a coin return container 37 and is disposed in 'the newspaper vending machine in a position such that it is accessible to the newspaper purchaser.

Referring now to FIG. 5, it will be noted that the coin operated dispensing mechanism 10 thereof has a slightly different coin return actuating mechanism, in lieu of the outwardly extending ears 31 having the com.- plementary holes 32 therein being fixed to the plate, the cars 31 are secured to a bracket 39 which is in turn fixedly secured to the housing 29 and the end plate is provided with an outwardly extending ear 45 which is located beneath, intermediate and perpendicular to the cars 31. The car 45 has a hole 46 therein, which is positioned sothat an axial line through the hole 46 will intersect perpendicularly an axial line through the holes 32. A coin return lever 47 having a substantially inverted L shape is positioned between the cars 31 in a manner such that the free end of the long leg is disposed within thehole 46 of the car 45. The lever 47 has a channel 48 which is coaxial with the holes 32 of the cars 31 when the end of the lever 47 is within the hole 46 of the ear 45. A pin 49 is inserted through the holes 32 and the channel 48, whereby the lever 47 is maintained in its complementary position to the ears 31. The short leg of the lever 47 is disposed at a substantially angle to the long leg and extends out- 'wardly through an elongated slot 35 in the face plate 36 in the same manner as the end 34 of the lever 33. When the lever 47 is moved within the elongated slot 35, the lever is caused to pivot about the pin 49, which is held in a fixed position by the ears 31 and the bracket 39.

In many instances, depending upon the construction of the vending machine, the access door when fully opened abuts the face plate 36 and consequently the end of the coin return lever which extends through the face plate. This is obviously not desirable since the lever and the entire coin return mechanism may be rendered inoperative thereby. In order to preclude the lever 47 from being bent or jammed by the access door striking it, a spring 50 is provided about the pin 49 between the lever 47 and the rearward ear 31 in a manner such that the lever is capable of moving inwardly against the force of the spring 50 by the access door and returns to its original position when the access door is closed.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a selective guard 51 is disposed adjacent the rearward edges of the coin operated dispensing mechanism 10, the guard 51 is pivotally mounted at a point forward of its center of gravity to a pin 52 which is in turn secured on each end to the housing 29. The guard 51 is essentially channelshaped and consists of a back plate 53 and a pair of parallel, spaced side plates 54 which are secured to opposite edges of the back plate 53. The guard 51 is positioned on the pin 52 in a manner such that the side plates 54 are parallel to the plates of the dispensing mechanism and separated by a distance greater than the combined thickness of the plates 11-16 of the mechanism 10. The back plate 53 is of a length greater than the side plates 54 and has an outwardly sloping lip 55 along its free lower end. When the guard 51 is in its inoperative position as shown in FIG. 5 and in dotted line in FIG. 6, the lip 55 rests in abutment to the upper surface of the latch 22 in a manner such as to hold the guard 51 in an inoperative, substantially vertical position. The guard 51 is pivotally mounted on the pin 52 at a point forward of its center of gravity so that when the latch 22 is pulled forward under the stop 23 by the opening of the access door, the lip 55 is caused to slide off the latch 22 and due to the weight and pivot point, the guard 51 is caused to pivot about the pin 52 to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 6. Because the side plates 54 are separated by a distance greater than the combined thickness of the plates the side plates 54 move to a sandwiching position about theplates, wherein a portion of the plates forming the dispensing mechanism 10 are disposed within the guard 51 between the side plates 54.

In operation, when a potential purchaser inserts the correct coins in the correct sequence into the coin slots 24, the coins will be caused to enter into the correct passageway 19 by the action of the deflector25. The coins will travel by gravity through the passageway 19 until they enter the cam cut-out 20 in abutting relationship to the latch '22. When the coins are in position the purchaser will pull the access door open, since the latch 22 is affixed to the access door the latch will move with the door. The movement of the latch 22 under the coins disposed within the cam cut-out 20 will cause the latch 22 to be depressed a distance sufiicient to clear and pass under the stop 23, thereby allowing the access door to be opened and a newspaper to be removed.

If incorrect, insufficient or bent coins are inserted into the coin slot 24, the stop 23 will engage one of the cut-outs 42 or 43 in the latch 22 and then if the purchaser wishes to retrieve the inserted coins, he

grasps the end of the coin return lever and moves it within the elongated slot 35 in the face plate 36. Since the coin return lever is attached to the coin dispensing mechanism 10, the movement of the lever will cause the dispensing mechanism to pivot about the support pin 28 because of its pivotal attachment thereto by the hangers 27. The movement of the dispensing mechanism 10 will cause all the plates contained therein to move to a position adjacent the latch 22 from the position directly above the latch. The movement of the coin return lever and the consequential movement of the dispensing mechanism thereby will be against the biasing force of the positioning bar 30 which is capable of being pivoted about its attachment point to the housing 29. As the dispensing mechanism 10 moves, the plates 11-16 are not held in abutment to the positioning abutment and are therefore free to move apart or separate from their normal position in abutment to each other. The free movement of the plates ll-l6 relative to each other is allowed by the connecting pins 18 which are of a length greater than the combined thickness of the plates. The connecting pins 18 will prevent the plates from completely falling off but will allow the plates to separate a sufficient distance so that any bent coins trapped between the plates will have sufficient clearance to fall out or pass through. When the coin operated dispensing mechanism 10 is in its pivoted or coin release position as shown best in FIG. 3, all of the passageways 19 are disposed above a coin return chute 38, which terminates at the coin return container 37. The coins upon being released from the passageways 19 between the plates will fall into the chute 38 and travel by gravity to the container 37 from which the purchaser may retract the rejected coin. Additionally, when all the plates are in their separated position adjacent the latch 22, the finger 26 remains in contact with the latch 22, retaining the latch in a depressed position so that upon release of the coin return lever the biasing force of the positioning bar 30 will cause the plates ll-l6 to return to their normal position above and in juxtaposition to the cam portion 41 of the latch 22 and in abutment to the positioning abutment at which time the dispensing mechanism 10 is set to receive new coins.

In order to preclude a purchaser from inserting the correct coins into the mechanism 10 and partially opening the access door until the cut-outs 42 and 43 in the latch 22 pass under the stop 23 and then manipulating the coin return lever in order to cause the coins contained in the cam cut-outs 20 to fall into the coin return chute 38, thereby enabling the purchaser to obtain a newspaper and get his coins back, the selective guard 51 is adapted to engage the plates of the dispensing mechanism 10 when the latch 22 is pulled out sufficiently to clear the stop 23. If the latch 22 is pulled out sufficiently to cause the guard 52 to engage the plates then the plates are held in a fixed vertical position by the side plates 54 of the guard 51 and the mechanism 10 is prevented from pivoting about the pin 28; therefore, the plates cannot separate and the coins contained therebetween will not be released. If the latch 22 is not pulled out by the purchaser opening the access door then the guard 51 is held in its inoperative position by its abutment to the upper surface of the latch 22 and the purchaser will be able to pivot the mechanism 10 about the pivot pin 28, thereby causing the plates 11-16 to separate and the coins fall into the coin return chute 38.

For the purposes of exemplification, particular emlclaim: 1. In a vending machine, a coin return mechanism comprising:

a coin operated dispensing mechanism having a plurality of plates forming coin passageways, said plates having a plurality of complementary holes therein;

a plurality of connecting pins, having a length greater than the combined thickness of said plates, disposed within the holes in said plates whereby said plates are held in alignment while being free to move relative to each other along a common axis;

means for pivotally supporting said coin operated dispensing mechanism (from an overhead support P a latch disposed below said plates;

means adapted to bias said coin operated dispensing mechanism towards a complementary relationship to said latch while holding said plates in abutment, whereby the passageways between said plates are positioned directly above said latch;

a coin return chute disposed adjacent to said latch;

a coin return lever secured to said coin operated dispensing mechanism; whereby movement of said coin return lever will cause said coin operated dispensing mechanism to pivot about said pivotally supporting means away from said latch to a position over said coin return chute against the biasing face of said biasing means and the pivotal movement of said coinoperated dispensing mechanism will cause said plates to separate by moving away from each other on a common axis along the length of said connecting pins, thereby allowing any coins inthe passageways between said plates to pass into said coin return chute; and means secured to the bottom of a plate, said means contacting said latch when said coin operated dispensing mechanism is pivoted away from said latch, whereby said means maintains said latch in a depressed position allowing the coin operated dispensing mechanism to return to its operating position over said latch under the biasing force of said biasing means when the coin return lever is released.

2. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said (plate abutment retaining) biasing means comprises a spring biased positioning bar.

3. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said pivotalsupporting means comprises a hanger secured to the top of one of said plates and pivotally disposed over a support pin disposed above said plates.

4. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 1, further om risin a a stop secured to aid v nding machine and adapted to engage said latch; and

means for disengaging said stop and said latch.

S. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 4, wherein said latch has a plurality of cut-outs adjacent said plates and said stop is adapted to engage said cut-outs.

6. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 5, wherein said'means for disengaging said stop and said latch comprises'a cam disposed on said latch in juxtaposition to the coin passageways, whereby a plurality of coins inserted in said coin operated dispensing mechanismwill contact said cam and cause said stop to disengage from the cut-outs during progressive movement of said latch.

7. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 11, further comprising a guard adapted to prevent said coin operated dispensing mechanism from pivoting about said pivot support means when said (access door is opened) latch is moved.

8. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 7, wherein said guard is pivotally mounted adjacent said plates in abutment to (a) said latch disposed beneath said plates, said guard being adapted to pivot into sandwiching engagement about said coin operated dispensing mechanism when said latch is removed.

i 18 t -i t 

1. In a vending machine, a coin return mechanism comprising: a coin operated dispensing mechanism having a plurality of plates forming coin passageways, said plates having a plurality of complementary holes therein; a plurality of connecting pins, having a length greater than the combined thickness of said plates, disposed within the holes in said plates whereby said plates are held in alignment while being free to move relative to each other along a common axis; means for pivotally supporting said coin operated dispensing mechanism (from an overhead support pin); a latch disposed below said plates; means adapted to bias said coin operated dispensing mechanism towards a complementary relationship to said latch while holding said plates in abutment, whereby the passageways between said plates are positioned directly above said latch; a coin return chute disposed adjacent to said latch; a coin return lever secured to said coin operated dispensing mechanism; whereby movement of said coin return lever will cause said coin operated dispensing mechanism to pivot about said pivotally supporting means away from said latch to a position over said coin return chute against the biasing face of said biasing means and the pivotal movement of said coin operated dispensing mechanism will cause said plates to separate by moving away from each other on a common axis along the length of said connecting pins, thereby allowing any coins in the passageways between said plates to pass into said coin return chute; and means secured to the bottom of a plate, said means contacting said latch when said coin operated dispensing mechanism is pivoted away from said latch, whereby said means maintains said latch in a depressed position allowing the coin operated dispensing mechanism to return to its operating position over said latch under the biasing force of said biasing means when the coin return lever is released.
 2. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said (plate abutment retaining) biasing means comprises a spring biased positioning bar.
 3. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 1, wherein said pivotal supporting means comprises a hanger secured to the top of one of said plates and pivotally disposed over a support pin disposed above said plAtes.
 4. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 1, further comprising: a stop secured to said vending machine and adapted to engage said latch; and means for disengaging said stop and said latch.
 5. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 4, wherein said latch has a plurality of cut-outs adjacent said plates and said stop is adapted to engage said cut-outs.
 6. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 5, wherein said means for disengaging said stop and said latch comprises a cam disposed on said latch in juxtaposition to the coin passageways, whereby a plurality of coins inserted in said coin operated dispensing mechanism will contact said cam and cause said stop to disengage from the cut-outs during progressive movement of said latch.
 7. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 11, further comprising a guard adapted to prevent said coin operated dispensing mechanism from pivoting about said pivot support means when said (access door is opened) latch is moved.
 8. A coin return mechanism in accordance with claim 7, wherein said guard is pivotally mounted adjacent said plates in abutment to (a) said latch disposed beneath said plates, said guard being adapted to pivot into sandwiching engagement about said coin operated dispensing mechanism when said latch is removed. 